Edward Zwick is directing a movie adaptation of "American Assassin," the 11th novel in the Mitch Rapp series, CBS Films announced Wednesday.
Zwick ("The Last Samurai," "Blood Diamond") is writing the script with Marshall Herskovitz.
"American Assassin" was a No. 1 New York Times bestseller about the fictional CIA agent Rapp.. The series has sold more than 32 million copies worldwide.
Although the book is the 11th in the series, it is the origins tale, explaining how Rapp, a college student and athlete who encountered tragedy and was recruited to the CIA -- and set upon a mission of retribution.
CBS Films had intended to make an adaptation of "Consent to Kill" when author Vince Flynn said he was going to write the origins story.
"It was a natural decision to introduce audiences to Mitch Rapp -- the man before he became the legend," CBS Films President and CEO Amy Baer said in a written statement.
Lorenzo di Bonaventura and his di Bonaventura Pictures are producing with Nick Wechsler, Zwick and Herskovitz.
